Resources for Exploring Careers

Page Summary

General Career Information
Identifying Careers to Explore
Assessing Your Skills & Interests
Links to Government Job Classifications

General Career Information

• Career Videos — From CareerOneStop
• Find Occupations — From O*NET Online (Occupational Information Network) "The O*NET system serves as the nation's primary source of occupational information..."
• Occupation Profile — From America's Career InfoNet. Includes information on responsibilities, wages, employment trends, knowledge skills, abilities, education, and training.
• Occupational Profiles — From the Oregon Employment Department — Quality Information, Informed Choices
• Occupational Outlook Handbook — From the Bureau of Labor. Search database by keyword for career information
• Vocational Biographies — The Career Success Stories of 1001 Real People. Username: PortlandSU and pass code: 3W9N

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Identifying Careers to Explore

Connecting Majors to Careers

• What Can I Do With a Major in...? — From PSU University Career Center
• What are you going to do with that degree? Jobs by college major — Ben Schmidt, faculty at Northwestern University, used national survey data to create an interactive diagram that connects college majors to careers
• Federal Occupations by College Major — "...list of academic majors and some Federal occupations directly related to those majors." This is not an all-inclusive list. From USAJOBS.

Connecting Interests to Careers

• Vocational Biographies — Click on Holland Code on the menu bar at the top. In the box next to Holland Search, insert one, two, or all three letters of your Holland Code. Vocational Biographies describes the "Career Success Stories of 1001 Real People." Username: portlandsu and pass code: 3W9N.
• Interests: Preferences for Work Environments and Outcomes — From O*NET Online.  Filters occupations through your three-letter  interest code.
• The Career Interests Game — From Career Services at the University of Missouri. Use your Holland Code to identify careers to explore.

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Assessing Your Skills and Interests

• Make an appointment with a career counselor to do a career assessment: ​
  • We offer a variety of assessments related to skills, interests, values, and decision-making style. Because each person’s situation is unique, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with a career counselor who will help you select the assessment that is right for you. Assessments cannot tell you exactly what you should do, but they can offer a new perspective in the career planning and decision-making process.​
• Career Explorer — From State of Oregon Employment Department. Sort by location in Oregon, Occupation Type, Education Requirements, and Wages.
• Skills Matcher — From CareerOneStop. Match your skills with career options.
• Self-Assessments — From CareerOneStop. Identify skills, interests, and work values.
• Interest Profiler — From O*NET Online
• Oregon Career Information System (CIS) — If you have a valid Multnomah County Library card, you may access CIS from the the Multnomah County Library Career Information page. Click on the blue library card icon next to Oregon Career Information System. Learn about job responsibilities, requirements, employment outlook, salary, etc.

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Links to Government Job Classifications

Classification Specifications are generic descriptions of jobs in government agencies. This is not a list of current openings. Generally, classification specifications provide an overview of the job and describe essential duties and responsibilities as well as requisite knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs), and educational requirements. Salary information may also be included. You can review this information to identify the kinds of government jobs you might be interested in pursuing.

Cities

• City of Beaverton Class Specifications with salary information
• City of Gresham Class Specifications with salary information
• City of Hillsboro Classification Specifications with salary information
• City of Lake Oswego Classification Specifications with salary information
• City of Milwaukie Employee Classification and Compensation
• City of Portland Classification Specifications
  • Compensation Plans and Pay Practices--Select fiscal year compensation plan
• City of Salem Class Specifications with salary information
• City of Tigard Job Classifications with salary information
• City of Tualatin Classification Descriptions
• City of West Linn Class Specifications with salary information
• City of Wilsonville Class Specifications with salary information
• Oregon City Classification Specifications

Counties

• Clackamas County Classification Specifications
• Clark County Hourly (Non Exempt) Job Descriptions with Pay Schedule and Salaried / Management (Exempt) Job Descriptions with Pay Schedule
• Marion County Classification Specifications
• Multnomah County Job Profiles/Class Specifications with salary information
• Washington County Classification Specifications with salary information

Regional Government

• Metro Classification Descriptions

States

• Oregon Job Profiles with salary information
• Washington Classified Job Specification

Community Colleges

• Clackamas Community College Job Descriptions/classification specifications with salary data
• Mt. Hood Community College Class Specifications with salary information
• Portland Community College Job Classifications for Academic Professional, Classified, and Management staff.

School Districts and Education Service Districts

• Beaverton School District Classified Job Descriptions and Non-Representated Positions
• David Douglas School District Job Descriptions/classification specifications
• Hillsboro School District Job Descriptions
• Multnomah Education Service District Job Descriptions
• North Clackamas School District Licensed Job Descriptions, Classified Job Descriptions
• Portland Public Schools Classification Specifications

Transportation District

• TriMet Class Specifications

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Miscellaneous

What Interests You? — From the Bureau of Labor. Groups career information by area of interest. Also includes an alphabetical index.